Steve Sikes Blog  

   
Reflecting on this past weekend, here are my personal observations of four different parents, all in four very different situations.
.     Last Friday: Patti and I sat by Carlotta Jones and watched her and Chris’ two children star in the play, Seussical the Musical!  Great job Christopher Jr. and Sharnice!  What talent!
.     Last Saturday: I traveled into Philadelphia and sat by the hospital bedside of a young lady who had been hit by a car while riding her bicycle in downtown Philly; she remains in a coma.  I talked and prayed with her mother who resides with her husband in Indiana.  God, please heal Alice Hershey!
.     Last Sunday: Patti and I witnessed the wedding of Courtney Wilson and Joe Pollard.  I watched Ray walk his daughter down the aisle and caught a glimpse of Bonnie’s radiant face as Courtney’s mother.  Congratulations, Joe and Courtney!
.     Yesterday: I cried by the bedside of my daughter, Jessica, who has endured migraine headaches almost 24/7 since she was 12 years old.  Her 26th birthday is today and her last few months have been the worst ever.  God, please heal our Jess!
. Parenting can be so exhilarating, excruciating, enchanting, and exhausting!  Parenting is more than joy & sorrow, celebrations & hard work; it is a lifetime commitment, but N. C. I. S.  (No Chance I’d Switch) with any other role in the universe!  I’ve learned so much about life as a parent and so much about parenting as a life.  See Luke 15:11-32!  GIGATT!
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Last Sunday we enjoyed two LOVE CIRCLES, one at each service!  (A love circle is what we do as a Pitman church family after every baptism.  We form a huge human chain encompassing the entire auditorium.  Then while holding hands we share encouragements, scriptures, and exhortations to our brand-new baptized brother or sister and pray over them.) 
. Here’s a small sample of the LOVE CIRCLE encouragements shared last Sunday to Linda and Vanessa:
• Always seek 1st the Kingdom -Matt 6:33
• Ask, Seek, Knock (Pray! Pray! Pray!)  -Matt 7:7
• Press on! -Philip 3:12-13
• Hide God’s Word in your heart -Psalm 119:11
• Give thanks! -Psalm 105:1-8
• Learn to be still and wait on the Lord -Psalm 46:10
• You can do all things through Christ -Philip 4:13
• Do not worry -Matt 6:31
• Set your mind on things above -Col 3:2-3
• Fix your eyes on Jesus -2 Cor 4:18
• Remember you are in a spiritual battle -Eph 6
• Hold unswervingly to the hope we profess -Heb 10:23
• Nothing can separate you from God’s love -Rom 8
• Me casa su casa!  We love you!  Happy Birthday!!
. Circle up!  God is good all the time! 
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A dear sister came by the office today.  She was recognizably in a great deal of pain.  She is trying to go about her days as normal as possible.  What courage & faith!
. How many members of our little church family live in constant pain without any relief?  I assure you, it is more than a handful!  Now, can you imagine living each day with no respite, no let-up, no reprieve? 
. Eliphaz, a friend of Job, couldn’t have been more wrong when he came to one of the most ridiculous conclusions ever made in the Bible, “ the innocent do not suffer.”  OF COURSE THEY CAN AND MANY DO!  Eliphaz’s spiritual world-view was found wanting when he opened his mind to Job, “According to what I have seen”¦(Job 4:7-8).  Truthfully, Eliphaz hadn’t seen much! Conversely, my dear ones in pain, HOLD ON!

God is God…

“He sees and hears all our troubles, all our tears. Soul, forget not, ‘mid thy pains, God o’er all for ever reigns… For this life’s long night of sadness He will give us peace and gladness. Soul, remember, in thy pains, God o’er all for ever reigns.” (Spurgeon)                         
. GIGATTAATTGIG!